As we mentioned earlier, the internet has brought connectivity and transparency to our lives, primarily impacting the way we easily find any information about any brand or business.
With one click it is possible to know everything about a customer's experience with a company, whether it was positive or negative, what were the favorable and unfavorable aspects, and only then decide whether it is worth making a purchase or hiring a service.
Therefore, customer experience, also known as Customer Experience , encompasses any interaction (good or bad) that customers have throughout the entire purchasing process (including after-sales).
In other words, focusing on customer experience is no longer just important, but essential for businesses to develop, create authentic relationships with customers and even turn them into brand advocates.
In Marketing 4.0: From Traditional to Digital, Iwan Setiawan and Philip Kotler state that:
“In a world of Marketing 4.0, where great products and great services are commodities, usa real mobile phone number list the WOW factor (the expression a customer utters when, in a situation of great satisfaction, they are left speechless) is what differentiates a brand from its competitors. Companies and brands should never leave the WOW moment to chance. It is possible to design a strategy, create infrastructures and processes and train people to offer WOW.”
B2B Customer Experience
Now that we’ve covered a brief overview, let’s talk about B2B customer experience.
So far, we have made it clear that to build stronger relationships and stay ahead of competitors, it is necessary to focus on customer experience. Now, let’s understand how B2B companies can meet customer needs and expectations.
A study by Microsoft Dynamics claims that 95% of B2B customers believe that customer service is essential to building loyalty with a company. However, according to a survey by B2B International , only 14% of large B2B companies are customer-centric.
B2B organizations therefore have a long way to go to become more customer-centric. However, B2B companies that see the importance of this strategy now have a great opportunity to differentiate themselves in the market.
Why does B2B customer experience improve a company's results?
As we have seen so far, a B2B company's customer is likely to abandon a business experience due to poor service. And that is just the first impact caused by a bad customer experience.
According to McKinsey , B2B customer experience can bring several benefits to businesses, such as 10-15% revenue growth, increased customer satisfaction scores, improved employee performance, and 10-20% reduction in operating costs.
With this data, it is possible to affirm that investing in B2B customer experience is really essential, mainly because it is directly related to customer retention, an important business metric for B2B companies.
But how do you get started? Here are some tips that can help your business:
Three secrets to a good B2B customer experience
1 – Commit to satisfying and delighting customers
Maintaining customer satisfaction is not just about providing the minimum service required. It is essential to exceed expectations.
An excerpt from Martin Lindstrom’s book The Logic of Consumption: Truths and Lies About Why We Buy illustrates how one company was able to exceed its customers’ expectations.
According to the author:
“ In the early 1990s, Guinness was facing huge customer losses in pubs across the British Isles. All because customers didn’t want to wait ten minutes for the neck of their beer to go down. So the company decided to turn this annoyance into a virtue. It launched advertising campaigns such as: “Good things come to those who wait” and “It takes 119.53 seconds to pour the perfect pint,” and even aired commercials showing the correct way to pour a Guinness. ”
By keeping a close eye on customers, the company was able to change the way it views the moment of waiting, transforming bad perceptions into new, positive habits. Today, the method of pouring beer has become a ritual for customers and a positive part of the drinking experience.
2 – Offer excellent customer service
In short, the goal of excellent customer service is to continually improve customer satisfaction.
In the B2B market, quality customer service is a necessity, not just a desire, as it is directly linked to business transactions between two companies, i.e. a buyer and a supplier.
Very different from B2C customer service, which can end once the purchase is made, B2B customer service requires special attention, as it involves a formal contract, with clauses, rules and a long-term relationship.
3 – Focus on customer experience strategies
As we have already mentioned, customer experience (CX) is the customer's experience throughout their journey of interaction with a company, from the first contact to becoming a loyal customer.
Implementing strategies focused on B2B customer experience is capable of increasing customer satisfaction rates, reducing churn rates, increasing revenue, and gaining brand advocates.
According to a global study by Oracle , 74% of executives believe that consumer experience influences them to become a brand advocate.
And the data doesn’t stop there. An American Express survey found that 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a better experience, and a Temkin Group study found that companies making $1 billion a year can increase revenue by up to 70% in 36 months by investing in customer experience.